I will make some comments to lead off and then will yield to Senator Corker and back to Senator Boxer, and we have others who would like to speak on behalf of this amendment. I wish to start off by saying to the Senator from Tennessee who…

I understand in the unanimous consent agreement I have 5 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, that is correct.

let me say to our Republican colleagues, this bill is going back to the House. We can send it back to the House correcting what I think is a misguided approach on pension smoothing. We can knock out that $3 billion pension smoothing. We…

first let me express my thanks to Senator Grassley for letting me step ahead of him and I thank the Senator as well for a number of courageous votes today. I also express my gratitude to him and to the Presiding Officer. I understand…

I rise to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission Report. As the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Tenth Anniversary of the 9/11 Commission

I urge my colleagues to vote to confirm Julia Clark to a second term as general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Federal Labor Relations Authority oversees the program in place at the Federal Government to maintain…

You and I have talked in the past about nuclear, and we both agree that nuclear has to be part of the mix so we can meet our climate goals.

I love bipartisan cooperation, and I love it when two of the most thoughtful Members of our Committee collaborate.

Coal is what, I think you said 37 percent of our generating capacity today from electricity, it is going to drop to 31 percent. That is still a lot. I would just say to my colleagues, there is a huge economic opportunity here.

We should have provided the framework for the way that we deal with climate change. We tried, but we were stopped.

I hope it doesn't take the loss of Smith Island in Maryland or the washing away of the Everglades... before we act on this critical issue.

I believe that EPA is trying to strike the right balance. God knows it isn't easy.

Think about that. What percentage of the electricity that has essentially zero emission is generated by nuclear? It is not zero. It has to be close to I would say 50 percent.

Tell us what the rules are going to be. Give us a reasonable amount of flexibility, reasonable amount of time and get out of the way.

You have the authority, you have the responsibility, you are acting.

Opponents to this rule are going to say that we have to choose between having a cleaner environment and a stronger economy. I have said a million times, that is a false choice. We can have both.

EPA has the authority and the responsibility to act.

We know that inaction on climate change only costs us money in the long run. Inaction can be devastating to our economy.

Option baskets are being misused and abused to dodge taxes and to circumvent leverage limits.

Congress could go further and adopt the proposal of my colleague from Michigan, Congressman Camp, and tax all derivatives at the end of the year on their market value.

Treasury, and the IRS should remove impediments to audits of large partnerships, like hedge funds, 99 percent of which today escape IRS audits.

Federal financial regulators should make clear to banks that participating in abusive structures designed to avoid leverage limits and taxes is unacceptable and penalize the banks that do.

I want to thank Senator McCain and his staff for their hard work in making today's hearing and our bipartisan report possible.

The structures that we have examined today have real consequences because they offload billions of dollars in taxes.